Stewardship, 2015

Here is our stewardship letter

God as the Giver

“Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Creator, who created all the lights in the heavens. God never changes or casts a shifting shadow” James 1:17

Each of us must grab hold of the exhilarating truth that all we are and all we have are gifts from God. Archbishop Desmond Tutu in his book, “In God’s Hands” says, “This is a God who intervenes on our behalf, not because we deserve it, but because God’s love is freely given. It is grace. It is not earned; it cannot be earned. It does not need to be earned.” God is the Giver, the ultimate lover of all God has created.

We can’t quite believe that God cares so deeply about us. It is counter to our culture. Our culture says we must earn everything, while the Bible tells us we can’t. God’s love is freely given.

What a difference it would make in each of our lives if we truly believed, “We are loved by God, no matter what.” Our lives could be more joyful. We could truly see God’s abundance all around us. We might even see ourselves as God intended us to be—stewards of all that God has bestowed upon us.

David Lose writes "Jesus’ message was and is absolutely and totally counter-cultural simply because we live in east of Eden in a world of quid pro quo and scarcity where there is never enough and the only thing you can count on are the things you own. And Jesus challenges all of that by telling us that the only things we can hold onto are the things we give away: like love and mercy and kindness and compassion."

We give back as we are given by God – Make your pledge for 2016

 The Commitment

Sunday, Oct. 4 is the distribution of 2016 pledge cards. A better word is commitment card.  We commit so we can give:

• Commit to help us reduce hunger in this area, through the Village Harvest Distribution
• Commit to us to bring hope to Peumansend jail,
• Commit to help us bring comfort to those suffering in sickness or loneliness,
• Commit to help us in Christian education and encourage fellowship.
• Commit so we can make a difference.  

What should be our commitment to what God has given us ? 

God calls us to share in God’s mission of caring for the world, using all the gifts God has given us. Our gifts includes those of treasure Over 80% of the funds used to support and plan for ministry in a year come from pledges.  

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Stewardship IS..

Stewardship is … Everything I do after I say, “I believe.”

ALL that we do, with ALL that we have, ALL the time.

We are stewards, caretakers of God’s gifts. Everything we have was a gift from God, and God asks us to use it all for God’s purposes. Generosity flows naturally out of our gratitude for the gift of love, family, and life itself.

Stewards promote the Shalom of the Kingdom: blessings of life, health, growth,
harmony, justice, abundance, fulfillment, joy, praise of God

In the church, we are stewards of the good news of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ.We are called to share that good news with new generations. But we live in a world where sharing that news is becoming ever more challenging. In order to share the good news, we need financial and other resources.

Our worries about stewardship tend to focus on money. But stewardship is all about mission. It’s those gifts which help St. Peter’s ministries thrive – food distribution and meals in our community, outreach to those in need, Christian education and fellowship for all.    

Convince people that the church is doing God’s mission and that it will truly transform our lives and our communities … and each of us is an integral part of that mission … heart, mind and body … and the money will follow.

Stewardship isn’t …

+ Fundraising.

+ Paying the light bills or maintaining a building.

+ Paying a decent staff.

+ Meeting the budget.

+ Keeping the church alive.

+ Paying our fair share of the dues.

+ Passing on a legacy to our children.

Stewardship is …

+ Sharing in God’s mission with a glad, generous and grateful heart.

+ Transforming lives in our community.

+ Prayerfully responding to God’s call.

+ A deeply spiritual matter.

+ Something that blesses the giver more than the receiver.

Stewardship is discipleship; it is a complete reorientation of our lives toward God, who calls us through Jesus Christ.

Stewardship is… Everything I do after I say, “I believe.”